By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter | Sophomore guard Latrell Davis drives to the rim in San Jose State’s 64-59 loss against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 17. (Photo by Nick Orozco- former Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
A late San Jose State (7-9, 0-4 MW) comeback was not enough to defeat UNLV (9-5, 3-0 MW).
The Spartans would fall 79-73 to the Rebels marking their third straight loss.
In the second half the Spartans outscored the Rebels 47-35 and found a way to cut the lead to three points after trailing by 20 by going on a 14-0 run.
“Our guys really rallied in the second half,” head coach Tim Miles said in a video posted to the team’s website, “We didn’t get quite enough stops to get over the top. A good effort to hang in there and keep battling.”
The Spartans won the battle of the boards as they outrebounded the Rebels 40-28.
Junior forward Sadraque NgaNga led the team with 11 rebounds while also putting up 11 points for a double-double in just 18 minutes of game time.
Senior guard Josh Uduje led the team in points with 18 and junior guard Will McClendon was second on the team with 15 points as the two continue to showcase themselves at the two main scoring options.
Graduate student Sadaidriene Hall had an off-shooting night as he went 1-7 from the field but he was able to snag 10 rebounds which was good for second on the team.
The Spartans also went 16-17 from the free-throw line in the game.
While SJSU is off to an 0-4 start in conference play, three out of those four losses have been within six points or less. The issue for the Spartans is the ability to put two good halves together or closing out games after taking big leads.
The Spartans will be back at home and face a tough challenge against Utah State (14-1, 4-0 MW) on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
